Europe through my senses

Hi blog friends. It's been a while. I've had hundreds of little moments when I experience something great, something memorable, and I want to run to the nearest computer to type it out so I'll remember that place in time and what happened. But I didn't. And that's life. You can't capture it on these pages because it happens without your notice or your permission. And it's beautiful and devastating, sometimes all at once.

The most recent memorable happening was going to Europe for two weeks with DR. While there, DR kept an electronic journal of our trip. Our daily adventure mapped out step by step with name of places and people we saw and what the weather was like.

My experience of Europe is in my nostrils and taste buds , and in my eyeballs and on the edge of my fingertips and at certain times like a grip on my heart. The tastes, smells, sounds, and sights are what I remember and what I daily documented in my mind. In London, the dominant sense was sight. Everywhere you look- fantasticness. The Buckingham palace was larger and way closer to the public street than I imagined. The British guards were every bit as still and stoic as I thought they'd be. Wherever we went, the tip of Big Ben (which to the British is the Elizabeth Tower) never escaped my sight. It was my reference point (if ever I had one- DR would say I never did) of where we were. The hustle and bustle of the Covent gardens and Westminster area was exciting and Times Square-esque. And then the quiet and quaintness of Notting Hill and Bayswater was a refreshing escape for dinner on our last night. I never did order a London Fog although I knew what it was and that made me feel a little bit British. The pace of the Tube- London's metro system is intense. If you don't know where you're headed you betta step aside. Enter American tourists with Canon around neck and open map with deer in head lights look on face. Ok, ok that was usually just me. DR did a fantastic job of navigating when we weren't with our guided tour. I chuckled inside every time I heard "Mind the Gap" (the space between the metro edge and the tube) Oh, and our guide always said "Time to Toodle" when it was time to move on to a new location. Loved it.

Paris was a feast for the senses in every way. The steely Eiffel Tower, the clean white Arc de Triomphe, the wafting of sweet and savory crepes being sold along the street, the buttery croissants and homemade jam, the glimmering champs de élysées shopping street which every designer known to man, the seemingly "care-free-ness" of the people. Everything about Paris feels magical. On the first night we had creme brûlée- so good. We took a bike ride on our second day and it was such a fun way to see Paris. I loved moving at our own pace, wizzing through the streets and stopping to take pictures of gardens and monuments, getting a Nutella crepe, and putting a lock on the Pont des Arts or Pont de l'Archevêché bridge. (Can't remember which one it was) Read here about the lock. Aaah Paris, I love you. I hope to see you again in 4 years perhaps for our 10 yr anniversary or for our 20th. Either way, Lord willing, we will meet again. You bring the champagne and sweets, I'll bring the $$.

Switzerland was hands down the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. Neat and clean and shiny. I thought seriously about waking up at 5 and going for a run along Lake Lucerne but then I rethunk it when we stayed up until 12:30 wandering the streets just talking and admiring the gorgeous place we were in. We bought some Swiss
chocolate but honestly it tasted just like the toblerone that we have here in the states.

Italy was last. Venice, Florence and Rome. Here's my ranking in order of fav to least fav:

Rome
Florence
Venice

We were really surprised that we didn't enjoy Venice as much as we thought we would. Maybe we built it up too in our minds. The gondola ride was fun. We drank some Rosé and were serenaded by a little elderly Italian man as we rode through the narrow canal passageways. The floating city just wasn't my fav. It felt dirty and cramped and touristy. The most memorable part of Venice was sitting outside our hotel drinking wine with a couple we met from San Antonio. They were on the guided tour as well. We talked about kids and church worship and the military and Jesus and inlaws.

Florence was nice. A little more spread out. A little cleaner. We had our favorite gelato here from a place called Vivaldi's. mocha, chocolate ganache, coconut.

We ended our trip in the capital city of Rome. We finally had a good fresh thin crust pizza pie. We took a took tour of the city and it was a great way to see in the city in a non-touristy way. We saw the Coloseum, the Pantheon, Vatican City, St. Peter's bascillica, the Spanish steps, the Trevino fountain the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's frescos including the Last Judgment. Such a powerful work of art. We had some great Italian dinners our last night being extra special. We went off on our own and had an authentic 5 course meal. Complete with antipasto , pasta, meat, dessert and in its own course, wine. The sweets were my favorite part. Tiramisu anyone? We ended our last night wandering around the streets and sat on the Spanish steps for a while. That night, we didn't feel like tourists. We felt like we were out on a date, especially the beautiful city with all the locals. I'll always remember that last night with DR.

What a fantastic trip. Cherished memories with my husband. I'm so thankful we were able to go.